Download 2 - Classical Greek

CLASSICAL
GREEK ART
CLASSICAL GREECE
Ancient Greek Art
Can be classified into the following categories:
Geometric Period ca. 900-700 B.C.E.
Orientalizing Period ca. 725-600 B.C.E.
Archaic Period ca. 625-480 B.C.E.
--- Greeks defeat Persians 480-479 BCE ---
Early Classical Period ca. 480-450 B.C.E.
High Classical Period ca. 450-400 B.C.E.
Late Classical Period ca. 400-330 B.C.E.
Hellenistic Period ca. 330-31 B.C.E.
GREEK ART BACKGROUND
Early Classical Period
ca. 480-450 B.C.E.
Defeat of Persians, Use of Bronze Sculpture, more detail
in sculpture
High Classical Period
ca. 450-400 B.C.E.
Parthenon & Erectheion, Doric and Ionic Orders,
Caryatids, Canon of Polykleitos
Late Classical Period
ca. 400-323 B.C.E.
Sparta beats Athens, Corinthian Order, ends with the
death of Alexander the Great; Praxiteles redefines
Polykleitos’ figures; sculptures are created with a more
360-degree interest
Hellenistic Period
ca. 330-31 B.C.E.
Considered the period between the death of Alexander
the Great (323 BC) and the beginnings of the Roman
Empire (146 BC); Sculpture demonstrated individual
and specific actions, individual emotion, pathos and
melodrama
CLASSICAL GREECE
GREEK ART BACKGROUND
Historical Background
A. Greek civilization was arranged into
small, competing political entities
known as City-States.
B. Greek states were forced to unite in
order to fight off Persian Empire in
the 5th century BCE.
A. ….. Then they went back to
fighting themselves.
C. Alexander the Great united the
Greek states …. Until he died at 33.
D. After Alexander’s death, the Greek
city states lasted until the Roman
empire absorbed them around the
3rd Century BCE.
CLASSICAL GREECE
GREEK ART BACKGROUND
Patronage & Artistic Life
A. Artists were well known and well
recognized.
B. Many artists were theoreticians as
well as sculptors and architects.
a) Polykleitos wrote a book on
human proportions
b) Iktinos wrote on the nature of
ideal architecture
C. Humanism – the pursuit of human
potential – was ever present in
Greek art and society.
a) It was reflected in society and
art through the idea of
HUMANISM.
CLASSICAL GREECE
GREEK SCULPTURE
Main Qualities of Greek Sculpture
A. NUDITY
a) Unafraid of the human form
b) Men & Women are depicted
naked
• HOWEVER – there is a
reluctance to show full
female nudity
B. Large Greek marble sculptures
sculptures are cut away from the
stone behind them. NOT
ENGAGED!
C. Greek art within Classical and
Hellenistic periods began to use
CONTRAPPOSTO.
Zeus, from the sea off Cape Artemision. Greece, ca 460-450 BCE
CLASSICAL GREECE
Early Classical or Transitional Period
The use of
HOLLOW-CASTING
BRONZE developed
toward the end of
the Archaic Period
made for more
complex, detail
poses.
Charioteer, ca. 470 BCE, Bronze.
CLASSICAL GREECE
Early Classical or Transitional Period
Using bronze
allowed such an
extensive study of
the anatomy that it
paved the way for
the achievements of
the CLASSICAL
period.
Riace Warrior, ca. 470-460 BCE, Bronze. With Copper lips and nipples.
CLASSICAL GREECE
Early Classical or Transitional Period
Anavysos Kouros and Peplos Kore,
marble and paint, Athens, ~530 BCE.
KNOW YOUR “K” WORDS!
KOUROS
KORE
Archaic
Archaic
CLASSICAL GREECE
Qualities of Classical Sculpture
A. Greek art within Classical and
Hellenistic periods began to use
CONTRAPPOSTO.
B. Forms became highly idealized
a) Greek canon of proportions,
defined by Polykleitos.
• Head should be 1/7th of
the body
b) Greek figures, regardless of
age, began to assume a heroic
form.
• Bodies alternated relaxed
and tensed poses
Praxiteles, Apollo Sauroctonos
LATE CLASSICAL GREEK
CLASSICAL GREECE
High Classical or “Golden Age” Period
Polykleitos
Wrote the treatise
“Canon of Polykleitos” – set of mathematical rules or
laws for human sculpture
Doryphoros – The ‘Spear-Bearer’
Polykleitos, Doryphoros, marble c450-440 BCE
HIGH CLASSICAL GREEK
CLASSICAL GREECE
High Classical or “Golden Age” Period
Polykleitos
Wrote the treatise
“Canon of Polykleitos” – set of mathematical rules or
laws for human sculpture
Doryphoros – The ‘Spear-Bearer’
Polykleitos, Doryphoros, marble c450-440 BCE
HIGH CLASSICAL GREEK
CLASSICAL GREECE
High Classical or “Golden Age” Period
The Parthenon
Plaque of the Ergastines (Parthenon frieze), c. 447-432 BCE. HIGH CLASSICAL GREEK
This sculpted plaque is a perfect example of Classical Greek art from the frieze decorating
the exterior of the Parthenon, built between 447 and 432 BCE to glorify Athens and its
divine protector, Athena. It shows one of the high points of the Great Panathenaea festival
held every four years in Athens. Here, six Ergastines (young women in charge of weaving
the peplos overgarment offered to Athena) are greeted by two priests as they walk in
procession towards the assembly of the gods.
CLASSICAL GREECE
High Classical or “Golden Age” Period
The Parthenon
Phidias, Helios, Horse, and Dionysos marble, c. 448-432 BCE. HIGH CLASSICAL
GREEK
These sculptures are from Phidias, a Greek sculptor, painter and architect, who lived in
the 5th century BCE, and is commonly regarded as one of the greatest of all sculptors of
Classical Greece. These sculptures were originally created an placed in the triangular
pediment atop the Parthenon.
CLASSICAL GREECE
High Classical or “Golden Age” Period
Temple of Athena Nike
Victory Adjusting Her Sandal, from
the Temple of Athena Nike
Complete 420 BCE, marble, Acropolis.
To prevent people from falling from atop
the hill, a large parapet (a wall) was
added around 410 BCE. On it contained
numerous reliefs, including this one of
Athena Nike adjusting her sandal.
CLASSICAL GREECE
High Classical or “Golden Age” Period
Grave Steele of Hegeso
(Atrributed to Kallimachos)
Marble and paint, ca 410 BCE.,
Athens
The main relief (on the right) shows a mature
Athenian woman (Hegeso) wearing a chiton
and himation, seated on a chair with her feet
resting on an elaborate footstool. In her left
hand, she holds an open pyxis (small
container), and in her right she holds a piece of
(missing) jewelry that was originally painted, at
which she is directing her gaze. Opposite her,
on the left, stands a maidservant wearing a
tunic and a headdress described as either a
snood or sakkos. The maidservant is presenting
the pyxis, on the knees of Hegeso. On the
epistyle there is an epitaph, “ΗΓΗΣΩ
ΠΡΟΞΕΝΟ”, stating that the deceased is
Hegeso, daughter of Proxenos. Grave markers
like these which much more personal, thus
costing far more money than figure vases.
CLASSICAL GREECE
High Classical or “Golden Age” Period
Grave Steele of Hegeso
(Atrributed to Kallimachos)
Marble and paint, ca 410 BCE.,
Athens
While Hegeso's relief may show a purely
domestic scene, the virtues it honors may not
have been solely for private use. Rather than
simply celebrating the lives of certain women,
the presence of stelae similar to that of Hegeso
serve to define the female within a social
framework. From 450 BCE on, a law by Pericles
stated that any Athenian citizen needed to have
a mother who was the daughter of another
citizen. This law gave more importance to the
child-bearing role of women (since their children
would later select the gravestones) as well as
the importance of marriage and familial
relationships, since marrying non-Athenian
women was so discouraged.
CLASSICAL GREECE
Athena Battling Alkyoneos
Pergamon, Turkey, Marble
ca 175 BCE. HELLENISTIC
Describes the battle between
gods and the giants. The giants,
as helpless tools, were dragged
up the stairs to worship the gods
The gods’ victory over the giants
offers a parallel to Alexander the
Great’s defeat of the Persians
Deeply carved figures overlap
and show mastery of depth,
space, drama and musculature
CLASSICAL GREECE
Nike of Samothrace, Samothrace, Greece, martble ca. 190 BCE
The wind sweeps her drapery. Her himation bunches in thick folds
around her right leg, and her chiton is pulled tightly across her abdomen
and left leg. The statues theatrical effect was amplified by its setting.
This sculpture was part of a two-tiered fountain. In the lower basin were
large boulders. The fountain’s flowing water created the illusion of
rushing waves dashing up against the ship. The sound of splashing
water added an to the sense of drama. Art and nature were combined.
CLASSICAL GREECE
A Roman poet vividly described the
strangling of Laocoön and his two sons
by sea serpents while sacrificing at an
altar. The gods who favored the Greeks
in the war against Troy had sent the
serpents to punish Laocoön, who had
tried to warn his compatriots about the
danger of bringing the Greeks’ wooden
horse within the walls of their city.
Everything about this piece speaks to
the Hellenistic ideal. The facial
expressions are exaggerated, the
muscles fully flexed, dramatic
movement is indicated, and strong
diagonals dominate the composition.
Laocoön and his sons
Early 1st century CE
HELLENISTIC GREEK
CLASSICAL GREECE
This is one of a series of
statues of old men and
women from the lowest
rungs of the social order.
Shepherds, fishermen,
and drunken beggars are
common- the kind of
people who were pictured
earlier on red-figure
vases but never before
were thought worthy of
monumental statuary.
Hellenistic art reflects a new and unstable social climate in
Greece. Social instability gave way to the depiction of a much
wider variety of physical types, including different ethnic types.
Old Market Woman
ca. 150-100 BC
HELLENISTIC GREEK
CLASSICAL GREECE
Seated Boxer
Bronze, c100 BCE.
Hellenistic sculptors often
rendered the common
theme of the male athlete in
a new way.
This boxer is not a victorious
young athlete with a perfect
face and body, but rather a
heavily battered, defeated
veteran whose upward gaze
may have been directed at
the man who had just
beaten him.
This boxer’s broken nose,
distorted face, bleeding
wounds and “cauliflower
ears” add the sense of
realism that the Hellenistic
artists sought.
CLASSICAL GREECE
Just over 100 years
separate these two
statues.
• Identify these statues
and their time periods.
• Compare and contrast
the ways in which the
human body is shown in
these two sculptures.
• How does the
representation of their
bodies reveal change
within Greek Culture?
The Three Basic Greek Orders
(Keep in mind that CORINTHIAN wasn’t around at the beginning of the Classical Period.)
CLASSICAL GREECE
CLASSICAL GREECE
CLASSICAL GREECE
High Classical or “Golden Age” Period
The Parthenon
Lasted from about 450-400 BCE - Sparta and Athens became enemies
ELGIN MARBLES – Statue Pieces from the Parthenon that Lord Elgin (Thomas Bruce)
recovered from ruins and sold to British Government
CLASSICAL GREECE
High Classical or “Golden Age” Period
Iktinos and Kallikrates, The Parthenon, completed in 438 BCE.
Sculptural designs by Phidias. Uses a y=2x +1 math in architecture
CLASSICAL GREECE
The Parthenon
High Classical or “Golden Age” Period
Temple of Athena Nike
The TEMPLE of ATHENA NIKE
Complete 420 BCE, Acropolis.
Nike means "Victory" in Greek, and
Athena was worshiped in this form, as
goddess of victory, on the Acropolis. Her
temple was the earliest Ionic temple on
the Acropolis. Here the citizens
worshipped the goddess in hope of a
prosperous outcome in the long war
fought on land and sea against the
Spartans and their allies. The Temple of
Athena Nike was an expression of
Athens' ambition to be the leading Greek
city state in the Peloponnese.
CLASSICAL GREECE
High Classical or “Golden Age” Period
Temple of Athena Nike
The TEMPLE of ATHENA NIKE
Complete 420 BCE, Acropolis.
Nike means "Victory" in Greek, and
Athena was worshiped in this form, as
goddess of victory, on the Acropolis. Her
temple was the earliest Ionic temple on
the Acropolis. Here the citizens
worshipped the goddess in hope of a
prosperous outcome in the long war
fought on land and sea against the
Spartans and their allies. The Temple of
Athena Nike was an expression of
Athens' ambition to be the leading Greek
city state in the Peloponnese.
CLASSICAL GREECE
High Classical or “Golden Age” Period
The Erechtheion
The Erechtheion, completed in 438 BCE. Architectural design by MNESIKLES
CLASSICAL GREECE
High Classical or “Golden Age” Period
The Erechtheion
The Erechtheion, completed in 438 BCE. Architectural design by MNESIKLES
CLASSICAL GREECE
High Classical or “Golden Age” Period
The Erechtheion
The Erechtheion, completed in 438 BCE. Architectural design by MNESIKLES
CLASSICAL GREECE
High Classical or “Golden Age” Period
PARTHENON (Doric Order)
The Erechtheion
ERECHTHEION (Ionic Order)
CLASSICAL GREECE
Late Classical Period
Lasted from about 400-330 BCE
Sparta defeats Athens in
Peloponnesian War
Greek Art still flourishes with
IONIC order, and even
introduces CORINTHIAN order
for interiors – Romans later
copied it
CLASSICAL GREECE
The Archaic Period
Exekias, Achilles and Ajax playing a dice game, ca. 540 -530 BCE
The Archaic Period
Niobides Krater, ca. 460-450 BCE
A krater vase comes from the Greek word meaning “to mix”. Because Greek wine was
created with a much stronger alcoholic content, a krater vase usually mixed water and
wine for serving. (A common practice was a 3:1 mix of water to wine.)
The Archaic Period
Niobides Krater, ca. 460-450 BCE
The Niobid Painter decorated this exceptional krater with two scenes: On one side,
Apollo and Artemis are shown decimating the children of Niobe with their arrows; on
the other side is Heracles surrounded by Athena and heroes in arms, in a composition
whose serenity is already classical, and whose meaning is still uncertain.
The Hellenistic Period
Considered the period between the death of Alexander the Great (323 BC) and the
beginnings of the Roman Empire (146 BC)
The Alexander Mosaic (Roman Copy), Pompeii, Italy, c100 BCE. REPUBLIC ROMAN